Som tryllekunstner er jeg altid interesseret i forestillinger der inkorporerer elementer af illusion. Og en af de mest bemærkelsesværdige var tanagra teater, hvilket var populært i de tidlige dele af det 20. århundrede. Det brugte spejle til at skabe illusionen af bittesmå folk optræde på en miniature scene. Jeg vil ikke bruge spejle, men dette er min digitale hyldest til tanagra teateret. Lad historien begynde.
As a magician, I'm always interested in performances that incorporate elements of illusion. And one of the most remarkable was the tanagra theater, which was popular in the early part of the 20th century. It used mirrors to create the illusion of tiny people performing on a miniature stage. Now, I won't use mirrors, but this is my digital tribute to the tanagra theater. So let the story begin.
Det var en mørk og stormfuld aften -- virkelig! -- det var den 10. juli 1856. Lyn oplyste himmelen, og en baby blev født. Hans navn var Nikola, Nikola Tesla. Denne baby voksede til en meget smart fyr. Lad mig vise jer det.
On a dark and stormy night -- really! -- it was the 10th of July, 1856. Lightning lit the sky, and a baby was born. His name was Nikola, Nikola Tesla. Now the baby grew into a very smart guy. Let me show you.
Tesla, hvad er 236 gange 501?
Tesla, what is 236 multiplied by 501?
Nikola Tesla: Resultatet er 118.236.
Nikola Tesla: The result is 118,236.
Marco Tempest: Teslas hjerne fungerede på en yderst ekstraordinær måde. Når et ord blev nævnt, blev et billede af det øjeblikkeligt skabt i hans sind. Træ. Stol. Pige. De var hallucinationer, som forsvandt det øjeblik han rørte dem. Formentlig en slags synæstesi.
Marco Tempest: Now Tesla's brain worked in the most extraordinary way. When a word was mentioned, an image of it instantly appeared in his mind. Tree. Chair. Girl. They were hallucinations, which vanished the moment he touched them. Probably a form of synesthesia.
Men det var noget han senere vendte til sin fordel. Hvor andre videnskabsmænd ville lege i deres laboratorier, så skabte Tesla sine opfindelser i sit sind.
But it was something he later turned to his advantage. Where other scientists would play in their laboratory, Tesla created his inventions in his mind.
NT: Til min fryd opdagede jeg, at jeg kunne visualisere mine opfindelser med stor præcision.
NT: To my delight, I discovered I could visualize my inventions with the greatest facility.
MT: Og når de virkede i hans fantasis levende legeplads, byggede han dem i sit værksted.
MT: And when they worked in the vivid playground of his imagination, he would build them in his workshop.
NT: Jeg behøvede ingen modeller, tegninger eller eksperimenter. Jeg kunne forestille mig dem som virkelige i mit sind, og jeg kører den, tester den og forbedrer den der. Først derefter bygger jeg den.
NT: I needed no models, drawings or experiments. I could picture them as real in my mind, and there I run it, test it and improve it. Only then do I construct it.
MT: Hans store ide var vekselstrøm. Men hvordan kunne han overbevise offentligheden om at de millioner af volt der kræves for at det virker, var sikre? For at sælge sin ide, blev han en showman.
MT: His great idea was alternating current. But how could he convince the public that the millions of volts required to make it work were safe? To sell his idea, he became a showman.
NT: Vi står ved en ny alders daggry, den elektriske alder. Jeg er blevet i stand til, igennem påpasselig opfindelse, at sende, med blot et tryk på en kontakt, elektricitet på tværs af æteren. Det er videnskabens magi. (Applaus)
NT: We are at the dawn of a new age, the age of electricity. I have been able, through careful invention, to transmit, with the mere flick of a switch, electricity across the ether. It is the magic of science. (Applause)
Over 700 patenter er knyttet til Teslas navn: radio, trådløs telegrafering, fjernkontrol, robot-teknologi. Han fotograferede endda menneskekroppens knogler. Men højdepunktet var virkeliggørelsen af en barndomsdrøm: udnyttelsen af Niagara Falls' frådende kræfter, til at bringe lys til byen.
Tesla has over 700 patents to his name: radio, wireless telegraphy, remote control, robotics. He even photographed the bones of the human body. But the high point was the realization of a childhood dream: harnessing the raging powers of Niagara Falls, and bringing light to the city.
Men Teslas success varede ikke ved.
But Tesla's success didn't last.
NT: Jeg havde større ideer. At oplyse byen var blot begyndelsen. Et globalt telegraferings center -- forestil dem nyheder, beskeder, lyde, billeder sendt til et hvilket som helst punkt i verden øjeblikkeligt og trådløst.
NT: I had bigger ideas. Illuminating the city was only the beginning. A world telegraphy center -- imagine news, messages, sounds, images delivered to any point in the world instantly and wirelessly.
MT: Det er en stor ide; det var et enormt projekt. Og dyrt.
MT: It's a great idea; it was a huge project. Expensive, too.
NT: De ville ikke give mig pengene.
NT: They wouldn't give me the money.
MT: Tja, måske skulle du ikke have fortalt dem, at den kunne bruge til at kontakte andre planeter.
MT: Well, maybe you shouldn't have told them it could be used to contact other planets.
NT: Ja, det var en stor fejl.
NT: Yes, that was a big mistake.
MT: Teslas karriere som opfinder kom sig aldrig. Han blev en eneboer. Undveget af døden, tilbragte han meget af sin tid i sin suite i Waldorf-Astoria.
MT: Tesla's career as an inventor never recovered. He became a recluse. Dodged by death, he spent much of his time in his suite at the Waldorf-Astoria.
NT: Alt hvad jeg gjorde, var for menneskeheden, for en verden hvor der ikke ville være nogen ydmygelse af de fattige, af de riges vold, hvor intellektets, videnskabens og kunstens produkter ville tjene samfundet for forbedringen og forskønnelsen af livet.
NT: Everything I did, I did for mankind, for a world where there would be no humiliation of the poor by the violence of the rich, where products of intellect, science and art will serve society for the betterment and beautification of life.
MT: Nikola Tesla døde den 7. januar 1943. Hans endelige hvilested er den gylden globe der indeholder hans aske i Nikola Tesla museet i Beograd. Hans arv er stadig med os.
MT: Nikola Tesla died on the 7th of January, 1943. His final resting place is a golden globe that contains his ashes at the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade. His legacy is with us still.
Tesla blev manden der tændte verden, men det var blot begyndelsen. Teslas indsigt var dyb.
Tesla became the man who lit the world, but this was only the beginning. Tesla's insight was profound.
NT: Sig mig, hvad vil mennesket gøre når skovene forsvinder, og kul depoterne er udtømt?
NT: Tell me, what will man do when the forests disappear, and the coal deposits are exhausted?
MT: Tesla mente han havde svaret. Mens vi stadig stiller spørgsmålene.
MT: Tesla thought he had the answer. We are still asking the question.
Mange tak.
Thank you.
(Applaus)
(Applause)